Friday, April 19, 2013

Q = Quinoa and Cold Quinoa Salad.

The first thing I learn from Wikipedia is that Quinoa is a species of goosefoot which doesn’t mean much to me. Apparently it is a grain like crop which is grown primarily for its edible seeds. These seeds have only recently started appearing everywhere with lots of recipes for their use, it is not a true cereal crop but is closely related to beets, spinach and tumbleweeds. Who knew? This food has been around for 4,000 years in the western areas of South America, and we are only just hearing about it? News spreads slowly. The Incas regarded it as a holy crop and considered it staple of their diets. The current spelling was developed by the Spanish from the name kinwa which is actually how it is pronounced. There are many new things appearing in our stores, recently we learned that Chia seeds (sold for Chia Pets) are also very good for us. Why waste it on pets?

My mother just discovered quinoa and loves it. THat makes me happy because she hates to cook now that my dad is gone and she finds this easy and worth the effort. I personally havent developed a taste for it which is surprising as I am the one accused of being a "cruncy granola loving dirt eater!" A bit too organic for some.

I wouldn't want to eat it without something added to it, but, like the salad above, I find it very enjoyable when I do. I have other recipes I have picked up over the last few months and I know it is a good source of nourishment at the same time as being enjoyable.

I haven't tried it cold must give it a try. In the health food shop near me they had some black and red ones, but they were far more expensive. I have also recently on a packet that was sitting at the back of the cupboard and had passed their sell by date found a way to use them in a craft project, the texture looks great!

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About Me

Happily married for 45 years, originally from the UK, living in Canada now. Interested in cooking, reading and wildlife conservation. Read more at http://satimaflavell.blogspot.ca/2009/02/fresh-fields-reading-and-recipes.html